Modern day mobile devices may have the capability to communicate using multiple communication protocols. For example, a mobile device may be able to communicate with a third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) cellular network as well as a wireless local area network (WLAN) that operates in accordance with a Wi-Fi Alliance protocol. Typically, a different radio interface will be used for each protocol, with each respective radio interface including a transmitter and a receiver that are specifically configured to communicate using the corresponding protocol.
In some situations, it may be desirable to handover a mobile device between heterogonous access networks. For example, a mobile station may want to be handed over from a 3GPP LTE network to a WLAN upon roaming into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Traditional handover techniques use the mobile device to relay handover signaling (e.g., messaging to de-register/re-register IP addresses, etc.) from the source network to the target network, which requires the mobile device to establish radio connections with both networks at the same time. Accordingly, mobile devices executing a traditional handover between heterogonous networks may be required to simultaneously power transmitters in the source and target radio interfaces. Notably, powering multiple transmitters at the same time may reduce battery life as well as increase peak power requirements of the mobile device. Accordingly, techniques and mechanisms for achieving a single radio handover between heterogonous networks are desired.